Eagles’ DeVonta Smith listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Ravens; Darius Slay ruled out

The Eagles listed wide receiver DeVonta Smith as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Smith was at practice on Friday, but was a limited participant for the second day in a row because of a hamstring injury that sidelined him last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. After Friday’s practice, the 26-year-old wide receiver said he didn’t know whether he would be able to play.

“It’s really not my decision,” Smith said.

And if it were his decision?

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“I still don’t know right now,” Smith said.

The Eagles also ruled out cornerback Darius Slay (concussion) and linebacker Ben VanSumeren (knee) on Friday’s injury report. Safety Sydney Brown (knee) and wide receiver Johnny Wilson (hamstring) also are questionable for Sunday’s game. VanSumeren, Brown, and Wilson were late additions to the injury report on Friday after practicing without designations the two days prior.

Smith has been dealing with the hamstring injury since earlier this month but only missed last week’s game after seemingly aggravating it against the Washington Commanders in Week 11.

When asked about possibly tweaking the injury against Washington, Smith conceded that the team recommended he give his hamstring a chance to fully heal instead of pushing it any further.

“Sometimes you’ve got to stop yourself,” Smith said. “If it was me, I probably would have kept going, but the team kind of did what was best for me instead of letting me make the decision by myself. They were looking out for me and said it was best that I sit.”

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Smith missed one game earlier this season with a concussion and was sidelined last weekend, but has seldom missed time in his four-year career with the Eagles. Going into this year, the only game he was sidelined for was the regular-season finale last season because of an ankle injury.

Smith said this time is different because of the nature of hamstring injuries, which often require extended rest to fully recover.

“There’s a difference between playing through pain and playing through something that you’re just going to make worse every week,” Smith said. “You can play through pain, and it can still get better, but playing through something that you’re just going to constantly make worse? That’s not a good idea.”

If Smith is unable to return to the lineup, the Eagles once again will lean on wide receiver A.J. Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert. Wideout Jahan Dotson likely will see an uptick in snaps. Dotson played 68% of the team’s snaps against the Rams, but had just one catch for 4 yards on one target. While running back Saquon Barkley accounted for most of the Eagles’ production last weekend, Brown also finished that game with six catches for 109 yards and one touchdown.

The Eagles play Sunday afternoon in Week 13 against the Ravens in Baltimore. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from M&T Bank Stadium.